Finding the Light
by RedHood223
Summary: If you've ever felt depressed and unwanted then you may be able to relate to Jason Wayne: a thirteen-year-old middle school student who lives in Royal Woods Michigan. Join us as he battles the darkness that has almost consumed him. He may even learn he has more loved ones in his life than he thought. Rated T for language. (I do NOT own the Loud House).
1. Chapter 1

Finding the Light

We travel through our lives everyday hoping that we can find people that we can bond with and fight the one demon that always appears to be pursuing us no matter how fast or far we run: loneliness. Everyone is plagued by this demon that is always able to crawl its way into our thoughts and twist our minds into thinking and, in most cases, believing that we will be lonely until the day we die. It's a war that causes us to second guess ourselves, our decisions and our own value to this world and everyone in it, we fight so hard and, in the end, we give-up the fight and give-in to our fears. We accept that we will be alone no matter how hard we fight we give-in to our supposed fate and let the darkness that is loneliness consume us believing we are fated to be stuck there forever without hope. The darkness reigns over us without hesitation and always manages to win driving us further into darkness of loneliness and it seems that all is lost, but in our travels, we can come across a faint light that ignites into a bright flame that drives the darkness away and changes how we feel. This where we enter the town of Royal Woods, Michigan where the darkness has sunken its fangs into yet another victim who has done everything but give-up the fight, though it appears the darkness is close to winning. Jason Wayne, a thirteen-year-old resident of Royal Woods, has been fighting what appears to be a losing battle for years now and has almost reached his breaking point. He puts on a smile for everyone around him, but it's only a façade to keep everyone from worrying and stop the constant bombardment of questions about his well-being. For him, as it would appear, there isn't any light to help scare the darkness away, but he will soon find out that light will shine over his personal darkness and destroy the loneliness he feels.

A new day had just begun and, already, it felt like it had been dragging on forever with no end it sight, or it did to Jason at least.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

"Why do I even bother keeping that stupid thing plugged in? It's not like I sleep any way." Jason said as he reached over to turn off his alarm clock.

Most kids Jason's age needs around eight to nine hours of sleep a night to function at full capacity and be ready to face the day head on, Jason managed to get around three hours each night, four if he was lucky. Despite his lack of sleep, he still was able to pay attention in all of his classes and maintain a relatively high GPA, he'd been functioning this way for so long it felt normal to him.

"And thus, begins another unexpectedly long day. Is it too soon to ask if it's over yet?" Jason asked to himself out loud.

Jason began to remove his covers and hung his feet over his bed to make the long walk over to his closet to get changed and ready for school. This always felt like a chore, just like everything else he did. He made his way to his closet and chose his outfit for the day: a pair of old jeans, a black t-shirt, an old hoodie that's seen better days, a solid black flat bill hat, and some old sneakers that are long overdue for a cleaning. Jason really couldn't care if he looked good or not, to be honest he probably couldn't tell you the last time he cared about how he looked or himself in general. He took one last look in the mirror before leaving his room to get the rest of the day over with.

"Let's just get this shit over with, the sooner I get to school the sooner I can come home and spend all weekend in bed where I belong." Jason said as he turned away from the mirror and opened his bedroom door to begin his walk to school.

It's true that today was Friday and the weekend was only one school day away from starting and, normally, kids would try to spend it doing something that was fun, like going to the mall or hanging out with their friends, but not Jason. Jason, for as long as he could remember, preferred to be alone and away from his family and friends for as long as he could, not because he didn't like spending time with him, but because he believed they didn't enjoy spending time with him. Now, Jason wasn't worried that his friends and family liked him, they told him that they loved him almost of a daily basis, but for the past seven years he's felt like a burden to any and everyone that he met. He believed that he was nothing but a problem his friends and family were stuck with until his time was up; something that he would wish for every day, so he could save the people he loved from having to be with him. Maybe one day his wish would come true.

Jason's next destination was the bathroom, so he could brush his teeth and use the bathroom before he left for school, he may not have cared how he looked but that didn't mean others had to suffer from his bad breath. When he opened the door to the bathroom his first destination was the toilet where he relieved himself and then to the sink to wash his hands and brush his teeth. When he made it to the sink he turned the water on and began washing his hands, after he was done he left the water running and grabbed his tooth brush, so he could begin cleaning his teeth. After he was done brushing his teeth he looked up and made eye contact with himself in the mirror, he paused everything he was doing because he didn't see himself, like a normal person would, he was a disease that plagued everyone he loved. He kept staring at himself, continuing to think of how much pain he's caused everyone and how much he hates himself for it. The only thing that snapped him out of his thoughts were the stinging sensation that he felt in the corners of his eyes, he quickly put his hands to eyes to wipe away his tears before going to school.

 _"No, not now. When I get home, I can cry all I want, but I can't give anyone an excuse to pry. I've done enough damage as it is, I don't need people wasting their time on a waste of life."_ Jason thought as he wiped away his fresh tears before they could fall.

After wiping his eyes to the point where they were both red, Jason left the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen to grab something to eat on his way to school. He didn't eat much, in fact he stopped eating lunch at school altogether, but he couldn't stand the feeling of hunger in the morning. As he made his way down stairs he could smell bacon being cooked, he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel hungrier when the aroma hit his nose. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he turned to his left and entered the kitchen, he looked over to the table that sat in the corner and noticed a full spread of food ready to be devoured. He was shocked. The table consisted of bacon, eggs, toast and even pancakes, everything looked amazing and Jason had to admit that his mouth was watering, but he couldn't sit down for a big breakfast. It would only make the day drag on longer than it needed to, and that was something he desperately wanted to avoid. Jason still found himself locked in a trance only to be snapped out of it from a voice that came from behind him.

"See anything you like?" a feminine voice asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's you. Hey Cassidy." Jason said as he turned around to greet his other housemate.

When he turned around he saw a tall, thin woman in her late early thirties who had brown hair and green eyes. She had a smile on her face when she entered the kitchen and saw Jason entranced by all the food she had made for them this morning, it was a lot of hard work, but he meant the world to her and she would always go out of her way for him.

"Jason it's been five years, you can call me mom." Cassidy said as she walked up and gave Jason a hug.

Jason was reluctant at first and wished he could just refuse it, but he returned the gesture under much duress and with little effort on his part; hugs weren't really his thing, almost anyone having any physical contact with him wasn't his thing. It was true though: for the past five years Cassidy had been raising Jason as his foster mother, but Jason still didn't view her as his actual mother. He always referred to her by her first name in their home and out in public and never mentioned having a mother to his friends, she was just Cassidy and she started to think Jason would never come to view her as his mother.

"I know I can, but it just… doesn't feel right to. I'm sorry." Jason said as he pulled back from his surprise, and unwanted, hug and glancing down at his feet.

"It's okay, go ahead and sit down I could hear your stomach from upstairs." Cassidy sighed as she looked at Jason with a bit of sadness in her tone.

"Actually, I was hoping to just grab a quick bite and head to school." Jason responded, but not without noting the change in Cassidy's demeanor to his earlier response.

"You sure? You've got some time before school starts and I made a lot of your favorites." Cassidy pleaded.

"Yeah, I just want to head to school and get the day over with as quick as possible."

"You okay Jay? Anything bothering you?" Cassidy asked with much concern.

Well, he should've expected that: the nickname she had always called him when she suspected something was wrong or when she was worried about him, he hated it when she did that because it only made him feel worse knowing that he was making her feel worse. He had to recover quickly, or he would end up having a long conversation that wouldn't end until he told her everything that was wrong or bothering him, and that would take more time than either of them had left.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just want to get to school and ask my teacher about some homework I had trouble with last night." Jason lied nervously hoping Cassidy wouldn't notice.

She thought about it for a second and thought it was weird that Jason struggled with his homework, he's normally good in every subject. She didn't want to push him and said, "Okay, but just be careful on your way to school."

"I will Cassie." Jason said as he grabbed a piece of toast and headed out the front door to begin his trek to school.

Cassidy walked into the front room and looked out the window and began watching Jason walk to school, but she couldn't stop herself from worrying about him, "I hate it when he calls me that. He only ever does it when he wants me to leave him alone or when he tries to fake me out. I just wish he'd talk to me and tell me what's bothering him, but if I push too much I might never get him to talk. I wish I knew what to do."

Jason was now left with his own thoughts, that and the piece of toast he grabbed before leaving his house and couldn't help but think about what happened this morning at home with Cassidy.

" _I know she means well and she wants to help, but if I tell her how I've been feeling it's only going to scare her and drive her away for good. Nobody wants something that's broken and they sure as hell don't want something that's shattered beyond repair_." Jason thought as he munched away at his breakfast.

Jason continued his walk, he lived close to the local middle school, with the hopes that maybe this would be the one day where no one noticed him and just let him be, "Hey Jase! Wait up!" Sadly, that would not be happening today.

"Well, shit." Is all Jason could say as he stopped in his tracks to see who it was calling for him. When he turned, his expression changed to one of delight as he saw that the mystery person was his friend, his best friend, Lynn Loud: Royal Woods local all-star and member of one of the biggest families in town.

He wasn't all that interested in seeing people today, but this was one person he was always glad to see, "Hey Lynn. What's up?" Jason asked.

"Nothing much, just thought I'd catch up with the best sports buddy in Royal Woods." Lynn said as she playfully punched Jason in the arm.

"It's good to see you too Lynn, even if it does mean getting a few bruises." Jason said as he rubbed his now slightly aching arm.

Lynn was right, Jason was the best sports buddy she could've asked for: he never said no, he would practice any and every sport she wanted to brush up on and he wasn't afraid of taking a few bumps here and there. Lynn was one of the first friends Jason ever made when he moved to Royal Woods and began living with Cassidy, he was shy and kept to himself when he started elementary school, but she approached him one day at recess when she saw him wearing a basketball shirt and sitting alone not doing anything and asked him to play basketball with her. Jason turned down the offer at first, but Lynn was persistent and unwilling to give up on a chance to play one of her favorite games with someone. She decided that if Jason was just going to sit there then so would she. She sat down next to him and began asking him questions about who he was, if he liked sports and who his favorite teams were. Jason was annoyed at first, but as time went on he saw that she wanted to get to know him and maybe be his friend so, he decided to put in a little effort and took her up on her offer to play basketball. Now here they are, seven years later, best friends and sports buddies.

"So, you want to come over after school and shoot some hoops?" Lynn asked.

"I don't know Lynn, I kind of wanted to take it easy today." Jason said as they both began walking to school.

"Come on Jase, it'll be fun." Lynn pleaded.

"Maybe another time, I'm just not feeling it today."

"Pretty please?" Lynn asked with her hands clasped together and big puppy dog eyes.

Jason normally had no problem telling people he didn't want to do something and being firm about it, but with Lynn he had a soft spot for her and found it hard to say no so, he gave in, "Okay Lynn I'll come over, you know it's hard for me to say no to you right?" Jason asked.

"And that's why you're the best buddy anyone could have." Lynn said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm just amazing, aren't I?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"Alright don't get a big head one me now. Hey, I meant to ask, did you sleep well last night? You look exhausted."

"Same as usual: enough to keep me going."

"Have you told Cassidy?"

"Nah, it'll be fine. I've gone my entire life on no sleep"

"That's not good Jase you need sleep, and I saw that you were eating a piece of toast. Is that all you had for breakfast?"

Almost everyone hadn't even noticed that Jason wasn't really eating, just how he liked it, but there were two people who had managed to notice: Cassidy and Lynn. Cassidy never really pushed the subject, but Lynn on the other hand wasn't having it, Lynn viewed eating and sleeping as the corner stone of a well-functioning day. Jason hated lying to Cassidy, but he couldn't even bring himself to lie to Lynn so, he came clean.

"Well, yeah, but I wasn't very hungry this morning." Jason defended.

"That's still no excuse, here take this." Lynn said as she reached into her bag and pulled out an apple.

"Lynn you don't have to, really I'm not hun-." Jason couldn't even finish his statement before Lynn shoved the apple into his hand not taking no for answer.

"You need to eat, don't think I haven't noticed you not eating during lunch. I'm going to make sure you at least eat breakfast." Lynn persisted.

Jason looked down at the apple and then back up to Lynn, "You're very persistent Lynda. Alright I'll eat this." Jason said as he called Lynn by the nickname he gave her years ago, just like the one he gave Cassidy.

"Good, and look we made it to school. Now you eat that, and I'll see you in class." Lynn said as she left Jason and walked into the building.

When Jason saw that the coast was clear he chucked the apple into the nearest trash can, " _I know she's just looking out for me and I appreciate everything she does, but when you don't deserve something you shouldn't take advantage of it_." Jason thought as he made his way into the building.

As Lynn was walking to her class she couldn't help but think about what Jason had said to her, _"I hate it when he calls me that. He only ever does it when he thinks he's fooled me, I know something's wrong and I wish he'd just tell me, I'm his best friend for fucks sake. Whatever is bothering him I'm going to find out and nothing's going to stop me."_ Lynn thought with determination.

After tossing away the impromptu breakfast given to him by his friend, Jason decided to make his way to his locker and grab what he needed for the day, hopefully that would be the only time someone decided to lend a hand today. As Jason was making his way through the halls he couldn't help but to look around at all his fellow classmates, but this only made him regret getting out of bed even more. Jason always tried to keep his head down when it came to being surrounded around large groups of people; seeing so many people laughing, hugging and having what seemed to be a great time only made envious of what he felt he didn't deserve or couldn't have. He truly believed he wasn't meant to have any happiness in his life.

When Jason had finally made his way to his locker he opened it, grabbed his books and made his way towards his first period class with the hopes just making it through the day without any complications. Jason had finally made it to his classroom, he moved towards his desk next to his best friend, Lynn, and sat down while putting his down on his desk, "Hey, you okay there?" a voice asked.

"Huh?" Jason asked as he looked up to see that the mystery speaker was none other than his best friend.

"Are you okay?" Lynn asked again.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good." Jason answered avoiding eye contact with Lynn.

"You sure? You still don't look very good. We can go down to the office and call Cass-." Lynn tried to say before she was cut off.

"NO!" Jason responded, a little more aggressive than he meant to. "Sorry, I mean no we don't need to I'm okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Jason said with a forced smile.

"Okay, just pay attention during class. I already hate taking notes for myself, I don't want to have to take them for you too." Lynn said.

"You won't have to." Jason said as he opened his notebook.

RING! RING! RING!

The bell run signaling for class to start which was meant with many audible groans, including Lynn, but Jason didn't seem to care like usual. When the teacher finally walked in and began speaking Jason could already tell this day was going to be long, _"I should've stayed in bed, but then again I'd just rather not wake up."_ Jason thought.

 **Here is the second story I've written and I'd like to say that I didn't think that my first story would actually get viewed and thank you to everyone that read it and liked it. Now switching focus to my new story I hope everyone likes the first chapter, please leave your reviews and if you enjoy it enough give it a fav or a follow. I hope everyone enjoys and will follow the journey that Jason goes on with the Loud House crew.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Back to Bed**

School dragged on, as it usually did, for Jason: English was focused on discussing some book no one in the class had ever heard of, he spent most of math just reading his text book and blocking out everything around him, he did the same in history class now he had reached lunch, his least favorite part of the day. This was the one time when Jason was around a large portion of the student body, he wasn't a big fan of huge crowds, and he always tried to isolate himself and make himself seem busy, so no one would pay attention. When he entered the lunch room he looked around and found an empty table in the far back corner that was unoccupied, he had finally found a temporary sanctuary for the day. Jason walked over to the table and placed his back pack and his books on the table, sat down, pulled out his phone and put his head phones in so he could listen to music. It appeared his plan for isolation would go off without a hitch, but no plan is perfect.

Lynn had just entered the lunch room looking around for a place to sit, she was one of the more popular kids in school and found ample seating choices upon arrival, but there was one spot that caught her eye immediately. "Is that Jason?" Lynn asked herself.

Lynn saw her friend sitting by himself without anything to eat, which she did not take very kindly to, _"Again with this? It's, like, the fourth week in-a-row he doesn't have any lunch. Well, as long as I'm here he's not going hungry."_ Lynn thought determinedly. She started to make her way over to him, when she got closer she saw that he had his head phones in and wasn't paying attention to anything, perfect conditions for a surprise.

Lynn walked up, making sure Jason didn't see her, to the back of Jason's chair and when she was striking distance she made her move, "HEY JASON!" Lynn yelled while clamping both hands onto Jason's shoulders. The result was only humorous for one of them though.

"JEEZ!" Jason said in surprise, "Who did tha-." Jason didn't need to finish his sentence, when he turned around he saw the culprit. "Oh, hey Lynn. You scared me there." Jason said mildly annoyed.

"Oh, did I?" Lynn said coyly with a slight snicker.

"So, did you come over here for something other than to stop my heart? Though, I'm not entirely against that." Jason asked.

"Well, I saw that you were sitting over here by yourself and I noticed you didn't have any food, AGAIN I might add, and thought you could use some company."

"Oh, that's nice of you Lynn, but I thought maybe I would just sit by mys-." Jason tried to say before he was cut-off by Lynn.

"And I may have had my dad pack me an extra sandwich and thought I might share the good fortune. So, what do you say we eat together?" Lynn asked with a smile.

Jason stood there for a few seconds contemplating what just happened: his friend scared him and now is offering to share her lunch with her, even after he was a bit of a jerk this morning when they were walking to school. Jason loved that Lynn had been his friend for so long and that she cared about his well being like she did, but every time she'd go out of her way for him he couldn't help but think he didn't deserve a friend as great as her. He wouldn't trade her for the world, but he always thought she deserved better than him; her and Cassidy. They both deserved better than him.

 _"She's still looking out for me. I wonder what she did wrong to get stuck with a broken fuck-up like me?"_ Jason thought to himself. "Alright Lynn, I'll have lunch with you." Jason answered.

"Sweet! You're gonna love my dad's sandwiches, they're the best." Lynn said in joy as she sat down and pulled out hers and Jason's food.

The second Jason said yes to Lynn's offer he instantly regretted it. He believed Lynn about how good her father's sandwiches were, he's experienced his cooking before, but for so long now Jason couldn't even think about eating, let alone actually eat, without getting sick to his stomach. It didn't matter how good the food was he just couldn't eat without getting sick, he would've loved to eat what Cassidy fixed this morning, but the thought of eating made his stomach toss and turn. The only thing he could do now was hope he'd be able to keep his food down, but if not, he hoped he wouldn't make a big scene if he didn't make it to the bathroom in enough time. He was rolling the dice on this one.

"Here ya go Jase." Lynn said handing Jason his sandwich. "This is gonna be the best sandwich you've ever eaten."

"Thanks Lynn." Jason said while taking the sandwich from Lynn. _"Well, her goes nothing."_ Jason thought.

Jason just looked at his sandwich, still wrapped in plastic, wondering if he could just go back on what he said and just give Lynn her sandwich back. He really wanted to. He didn't realize how entranced by the food he was holding he had become until Lynn had looked up and noticed.

"Hey Jase, you gonna eat that or just stare at it?" Lynn asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah just zoned out for a second." Jason answered as he began to unwrap his sandwich, which turned out to be a huge mistake.

"Doesn't it smell good?" Lynn asked happily.

Oh, it smelled good alright, but that's not what Jason's stomach was telling him when its scent finally hit his nose at full force. The only thing he wanted to do now was get away from that sandwich as quick as possible, but he promised his friend and was going to keep his promise to her. Even if it kills him.

"Yeah, it smells great." Jason said trying not to gag.

"Well, dig in man." Lynn said.

"You read my mind, heh heh." Jason said nervously.

Jason started to move the sandwich up to his lips and began to open his mouth, he started to curse himself internally for taking Lynn up on her offer and for even coming to school today. Once his sandwich was up to his mouth he took a small bite and began chewing, the sandwich tasted good, but that's not what his stomach was telling him.

"It's good isn't it?" Lynn ask excitedly.

"Yeah, it's really, uh, good." Jason said

It did taste good, amazing in fact, but Jason's fear came true: he couldn't keep anything down or even taste anything without wanting to throw up, no matter how great it tasted, but his friend was looking out for him and he wasn't going to disrespect her and her generosity. He finally swallowed the first bite and took a second, this one appeared to be just as bad if not worst than the first one; upon further contemplation this one was worse, way worse. If his stomach wasn't upset before it was now, and it was making sure Jason knew how it felt about the new unwanted visitor. He kept telling himself that if he powered through it he'd be able to keep it down and keep his friend happy at the same time, but there are sometimes when all the will power in the world can't help you.

"So, you like it?" Lynn asked.

"Yeah, it's really go-." Jason tried to answer.

That second bite is what it took to push his stomach over the edge and tell him its new tenant wasn't going to be staying, and that'd it would be leaving the same way it entered.

"Jason? You okay bro?" Lynn asked.

Jason didn't say anything, but his actions spoke volumes: he placed the rest of his sandwich down and slowly stood up from his chair with the straightest face he could pull, given the circumstances. Once he stood up he took off in almost a full sprint looking for the nearest bathroom, luckily for him there was one in the lunch room. When he found his destination, he darted through the doorway and looked for the closest stall, but sometimes fate isn't on your side: every stall was occupied. Jason looked around frantically hoping that there was something he could use to puke in before he ended up making a mess all over the floor and having to explain himself to the janitor. After taking one last look around he noticed a trash can in the corner by the paper towel dispenser, he didn't even think twice before lunging at it. When he finally got to the trash can he placed his hands on the sides and looked down into it just waiting for the inevitable. He didn't have to wait very long. The second he looked down into the trash can Jason opened his mouth and flooded it with the contents of his stomach and filling the restroom with the sounds of someone in horrible distress. After a few seconds Jason had finally ceased his vomiting and found his legs weaker and unable to stand, he guided himself down to the floor and leaned up against the wall trying to catch his breath.

"Two bites of a sandwich and this is what happens? Damn man." Jason said through heavy breathing.

He sat there on the floor next to the trash can for a minute before he decided to stand up and make his way back to the lunch room, hoping that he didn't cause too much of a panic. Jason made his way through the entrance to the restroom and was met by his best friend with a concerned look.

"Oh, hey Lynn." Jason said awkwardly.

"Okay, what the hell was that?!" Lynn asked very concerned.

"Just really needed to use the bathroom ya know? Heh." Jason while rubbing the back of his head.

"Jason enough of the bull-shit, what happened in there? And we're not going any where until you tell me." Lynn said sternly with her arms folded.

 _"I know that look too well and she's being serious."_ Jason thought.

Jason stood there for a few seconds thinking about whether he should tell Lynn about what happened and maker her worry more or just double down on the lie he told her when he saw her. Lying to Lynn Loud Jr. was never a good idea, she'd get to the truth one or another, but if you made her search for it the result was much worse than if you just told her in the first place. So, he told her.

"I… I got sick." Jason said looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

"Sick how?" Lynn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I puked." Jason responded in shame.

This caught Lynn a little off guard; her eyes went a little wide and she unfolded her arms because now she was really concerned about Jason. She took a step forward and placed a hand on Jason's shoulder, it didn't seem to faze him much because he still didn't look up at his friend.

"Jason look at me." Lynn said.

Jason looked up at his friend still showing a little bit of shame for what happened and making his friend worry.

"Are you okay? I watched you eat, and you only took two bites." Lynn exclaimed.

"Yeah, I just haven't been feeling well today." Jason answered.

"We can go to the office and call Cassidy so-." Lynn tried to say.

"No, no we don't need to worry her. I'll be okay now." Jason said.

"Jason you just said you puked and from only two bites of a damn sandwich! You're not okay."

"Lynn, I promise you I'm going to be fine, this happens all the ti-." Jason started to say but cut himself off.

"What did you say?" Lynn asked more seriously.

"I..I meant that just..shit." Jason said in defeat.

"What do you mean this happens all the time? And tell me the truth now." Lynn asked.

"Okay, for a while now I just can't eat anything without getting sick. I'm sorry." Jason answered.

Lynn saw her friend hang his head in shame about not telling her or anyone about what was going on with him, she could see that he seemed rather embarrassed by it. Lynn was a tough girl, you'd have to be to play all the sports she did, but she knew when someone needed help and a reminder that they weren't alone.

"Hey, Jase, look at me." Lynn told him

"I'm sorry Lynn." Jason said as he raised his head to face his best friend.

"You don't need to apologize Jason, I wish you would've said something sooner, but this is where were at now. So, you're coming with me." Lynn said as she grabbed Jason by the wrist and headed towards the nurse's office.

"Where are we going?" Jason asked.

"I'm taking you to the nurse, so we can call Cassidy to come and get you."

The second Jason heard Lynn say that he stopped dead in his tracks, Lynn was strong, but when you go dead weight it takes a lot to move a grown person. If there was something he didn't want it was to call Cassidy and explain everything to her and make her worry more than she already was.

"Come one Jason." Lynn said as she pulled him.

"But if I call her she's just going to worry and I-." Jason tried to say.

"We are going to the nurse and you are going to call her! You look terrible and you just told me you get sick whenever you eat. You're going home, and I don't want to hear ay arguments." Lynn said sternly.

Jason wanted to protest, but when Lynn made a firm stance she stuck to it and there was no changing her mind. There was only one option: call Cassidy and go home.

"Okay Lynn I will." Jason said in defeat.

"Good. Now let's go." Said Lynn.

They both made their way to the nurse's office, it wasn't too far from the bathroom, and when they got there they Lynn knocked on the door to gain the nurse's attention.

"Excuse me, nurse Elizabeth?" Lynn asked.

"Oh, hi Lynn. Let me guess another ruff day on the football field?" The nurse answered with a light chuckle.

"No, it's not me this time it's him." Lynn said as she pointed to Jason.

"Hi nurse Elizabeth." Jason greeted rather nervously.

"Jason? Are you okay sweetie?" Nurse Elizabeth asked.

"I mean I don't feel too ba." Jason tried to say.

"He just puked up his whole lunch and he hasn't been feeling good all day. He was going to try and make it through the rest of the day, but he just can't." Lynn exclaimed a little annoyed that Jason would try to lie.

"Is this true Jason?" Nurse Elizabeth asked.

"Yes." Jason answered in more ashamed than anything.

"Well, I'll go ahead and mark you out for the rest of the day. While I do that you call your mom to come pick you up." Nurse Elizabeth instructed.

"Okay." Jason acknowledged.

Jason took out his phone and looked through his contacts until he found the number for Cassidy, he almost didn't call her, but the stern look Lynn was giving him made him reconsider is choice. So, he pressed call and waited for her to pick up. The phone only rang once before she picked up.

 _"Jason are you okay?!"_ Cassidy asked worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine, well actually I'm not really." Jason answered.

 _"What happened?"_

"I got sick during lunch. Can you um come pick me up? The nurse already signed me out."

 _"Of course. I'll be there in five minutes."_

"Okay, thanks Cassidy."

 _"Don't worry Jason I'll be there soon. I love you."_

"I know, see you soon." Jason said as he quickly hung up.

Jason put his phone back in his pocket and looked up to see his friend giving him a slight scowl, for what he couldn't tell you.

"She said she'd be here soon. Why are you looking at me like that?" Jason asked.

"Really? You're wondering why I'm giving you this look?" Lynn asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, so, why are you?" Jason asked.

"I didn't need to hear the conversation to know what she told you." Lynn exclaimed.

"Well, yeah, you were the one who told me to call her and ask her to pick me up." Jason pointed out.

"Not that you moron, she told you that she loves you." Lynn pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, she did." Jason said while rubbing the back of his arm and looking back down.

"And all you said was 'I know,' you know you can say it back to her right?" Lynn asked

"I know I'm just not good with that stuff." Jason defended.

"Yeah? And so am I, but I tell my mom I love her all the time." Lynn countered.

"It's different Lynn." Jason further defended.

"How?" Lynn asked.

"She's not…" Jason trailed off.

Lynn wanted to scold him for that, but she could tell that some memories were starting to resurface, memories that Jason would rather kept buried. Instead, she decided to try the more comforting approach and maybe reason with him.

"Look, Jason, I know she's not your real mom, but she's been there for you ever since you were six. She's the closest thing you've ever had to a mom and she loves you." Lynn said placing a comforting hand on Jason's shoulder.

"I know, but it's so hard sometimes to…" Jason trailed off while tearing up.

"I won't push you, but you know I'm right." Said Lynn

Jason was going to respond, but his phone vibrated signaling Cassidy was her to pick him up, the term saved by the bell would be an understatement at this point.

"She's here, I should go." Jason said as he gave Lynn a hug and made his way towards the exit of the school.

Lynn was a little shocked, Jason doesn't normally hug her, but she wasn't complaining either. She knew something more was off, and she wanted to know what, she'd get him to open even if she had to use her secret weapon to do so.

"I wish you'd just open up Jase. There's people here who want to help you and love you, but you're not making this easy." Lynn told herself as she made her way back to class.

Jason finally made his way outside where he saw Cassidy's car waiting for him, she waved at him to get his attention and he waved back moving a little faster to get to her quicker. Once he made it to her care, he opened the door, sat down and they drove off towards home, the ride started off silent, but Cassidy decided to go ahead and break the ice with the question that had been on her mind ever since Jason called her.

"So, how are you feeling honey?" Cassidy asked.

"A little better, thanks for picking me up." Said Jason.

"No problem sweetie, have you been feeling bad all day?" Cassidy asked.

"Kinda." Jason admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've kept you home from school." Cassidy said very worriedly.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry and it's Friday, I thought if I could make it through the day I could have the weekend to get better. I'm sorry." Jason apologized.

"It's okay Jason, but you gotta tell me when you're not feeling good, so I can help you." Cassidy reassured.

"I know. I'm sorry Cassidy." Jason as he looked out the window of the car.

"It's okay Jason, let's just get you home so you can rest." Cassidy said as she reached over and rubbed Jason's shoulder.

The rest of the car ride was quiet, neither of them spoke until they got back home and in the house. When they entered their home, Cassidy told Jason to go upstairs and lie down for a little bit, it's like she read his mind. When Jason made it to his room he put his bag on the floor, took his shoes off and changed into something more comfortable before he lied down on his bed, once he lied down he felt his body start to relax.

"Today was a pretty bad day, but at least I'm home now and the weekend has begun. That's the only bright side I can see." Jason said to himself.

He was about to try and fall asleep when his phone went off signaling he received a text, when he looked at it he saw that it was from Lynn.

 _"Get some rest Jase, but me and you are gonna talk tomorrow when you're feeling better."_ Lynn said.

"Well, I guess I should've seen that coming." Jason said as he put his phone down and flopped back on his bed.

It didn't take long for Jason to fall asleep, in fact he was out the minute his head hit his pillow and he started snoring. He didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, but it couldn't be worse than today. He hoped.


End file.
